A couple in The Villages lost $529,854 after a newspaper ad led them to an investment seminar.
The couple, a 75-year-old husband and his 73-year-old wife, who previously lived in the Village of Gilchrist and now reside in the Village of Chitty Chatty, in 2019 saw an ad in The Villages Daily Sun placed by John Gissas of Retirement Evolution, according to an affidavit of probable cause from a financial crimes investigator for the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The couple was interviewed by the investigator in May of this year.
They said they were “intrigued” and attended a seminar, but did not invest. However, Gissas “called them repeatedly until he pitched a guaranteed product,” according to the affidavit on file in Sumter County Court. He promised them an 8 percent return on their money.
They gave him $529,854 and never got a penny of it back.
Their story is told in one of 27 affidavits collected by the investigator. The vast majority were from Villagers. The 27 investors lost a total of $3.7 million.
A 73-year-old Village of Osceola Hills at Soaring Eagle woman, who is an attorney in both Iowa and Pennsylvania, was among those providing affidavits. She also owns a farming business in Iowa. She borrowed $300,000 from the farm to invest with Gissas. She invested a total of $803,000 with Gissas and lost $794,000.
Gissas, 73, of the Village of Gilchrist, has been lodged since Sept. 28 at the Sumter County Detention Center on numerous charges in connection with the fraudulent investment schemes. He is being held without bond.
Most of the swindled investors said they found Gissas through the newspaper ads. They attended seminars in restaurants in The Villages including VKI Japanese Steakhouse in Lake Sumter Landing and at the Waterfront Inn. Gissas’ persistence and promises finally won them over.
The investigator found that Gissas from May 2018 to July 2020 “systematically deceived and took advantage” of the victims.
“Gissas advertised Retirement Evolution in the local paper and used lunch/dinner seminars to intentionally mislead and misrepresent facts,” the investigator wrote in the affidavit.
Several investors said they first discovered something was amiss thanks to an Aug. 4, 2020 story in Villages-News.com about a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into Gissas’ activities. Investors who contacted Gissas said he either pooh-poohed the article or stopped returning their calls.